consommé of partridge

Chop up the carcasses and fry them in olive oil together with the partridge legs. When the blood is gone, put everything in a soup kettle. Sauté coarsely chopped onion, leek, carrot, garlic cloves and celery in oil. Drain and add the vegetables to the partridge leftovers. Fry the bacon cubes in a dry non-stick pan, drain and add to the rest. Pour a few litres of water into the soup kettle until everything is covered. Season with pepper, salt, mace, cloves, bay leaf, thyme and juniper berries. Put on a low heat, just below the boiling point. The preparation must not boil. Leave to infuse for at least 5 hours, half covered. Leave to rest for a while off the heat and then use a ladle to scoop the stock from the soup kettle through a fine sieve. Do not pour it out in one go. The result is a clear bouillon.

You now have the basis of the consommé, which is not finished off in the traditional way with egg whites. Just reduce further on low heat with the addition of a glass of Madeira and a few tablespoons of tomato puree. Season with more herbs if necessary. Leave the consommé to rest overnight in a cool place or in the refrigerator and then skim off the fat with a trowel. The next day: cut carrot, leek and celery into julienne and steam the vegetable sticks until tender. Fry a partridge fillet, skinless and de- husked, in a pan with a little butter. After about five minutes, add half a glass of water, cover and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and wait for about ten minutes before cutting the fillet into strips. Serve at the table in a soup tureen. First place a heap of warmed vegetable julienne and partridge strips in the soup plate and pour a ladleful of consommé over them.